I bought a book on applique and am so impressed with it. It's called Simply Successful Applique by Jeanne Sullivan. It's 125 pages of detailed instructions and pictures. I'm a wanna be appliquer and find this book answers a lot of my questions and give many great tips. I like to have a book as I go back to it again and again. I think it takes a lot of practice and one picks up tips and tricks everywhere. Sometimes what works for one person doesn't work for the next. One person told me on the inside curves to put a little dab of glue on your needle when you sweep the edge under then use several small stitches to secure the area. I would imagine that no one else sees your stitches but you do because you are looking very close!